Controversial personal-foul call key moment in 49ers’ 23-20 loss

In a contest that turned on a controversial personal-foul penalty on outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks late in the fourth quarter, the 49ers suffered a punch-in-the-gut 23-20 loss to the Saints on Sunday on Garrett Hartley’s 31-yard field goal as time expired.

With the 49ers clinging to a 20-17 lead with just over three minutes left, Brooks appeared to make a potential game-sealing play with the Saints facing 3rd-and-2 at San Francisco’s 35-yard line. Brooks tore around left end, sacked Saints quarterback Drew Brees and inside linebacker Patrick Willis recovered the resulting fumble.

“Ahmad got to the quarterback and I was excited,” Willis said. “It was almost like Christmas early. He got the sack and you’re like ‘Hooray.’”

That “hooray,” however, quickly turned into a collective “huh?” on the 49ers’ sideline.

The turnover was wiped away when Brooks was assessed a personal foul for making contact with Brees’ neck. Brooks appeared to make initial contact with Brees’ upper torso before he used his right arm to sling the quarterback down by the neck.

“I didn’t hit him with my hand or my helmet,” Brooks said. “I basically bear-hugged him. That’s just how football is played. I think this s— is bull—-. Football, the way they call stuff these days, it’s watered down. It ain’t real no more.”

After the flag was thrown, a wide-eyed Jim Harbaugh screamed at the officials in protest. But he offered a more measured response after the game.

“I talked to Ahmad,” he said. “Ahmad didn’t think that he hit him in the head.”

Given new life, the Saints (8-2) tied the game at 20 about a minute later on Hartley’s 42-yard field goal just before the two-minute warning. After a three-and-out drive from the 49ers, Brees embarked on a game-winning 47-yard march that was initially aided by a 15-yard penalty on Kassim Osgood, who interfered with Darren Sproles when the New Orleans’ punt returner called for a fair catch.

Brees finished with an acceptable stat line: 30 of 43 for 305 yards with a touchdown and interception. But the 49ers did a commendable job given Brees’ 2013 performance in the Superdome, where he’d led the Saints to a 5-0 record by throwing 18 touchdowns, two interceptions and averaging 367.2 yards a game.

On Sunday, Brees third-quarter interception to Brooks was his first in 149 passes at home, his passer rating (87.8) was his lowest at the Superdome since a loss to the 49ers on Nov. 25 and New Orleans’ point total matched a season-low at home.

“We just need to play good enough to give us a chance to win the game, which we did,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “But we didn’t play well enough to win the game.”

For the second straight week, the 49ers (6-4) didn’t win because of their offensive shortcomings.

On the heels of a 10-9 loss at Carolina, the 49ers managed 12 first downs, 196 yards and their lone touchdown drives – of 11 and 22 yards – were set up by turnovers. San Francisco’s 348 combined yards the past two weeks are their fewest in back-to-back games since 2007. Their 22 combined first downs are their fewest in consecutive games since 2010.

Leading 20-17 with seven minutes left, Colin Kaepernick lobbed a pass to a wide-open running back Frank Gore on 2nd-and-9 at San Francisco’s own 21. Gore, however, dropped the potential big-gainer. After the Saints tied the game at 20 with 2:06 left, Kaepernick was sacked for a nine-yard loss on the first play of the 49ers’ ensuing drive.

Kaepernick has thrown for 218 combined yards the past two games, a total he surpassed in nine of his first 11 career starts, including the playoffs.

“I think we made it difficult on ourselves at times and we didn’t execute like we should have,” said Kaepernick, who completed 17 of 31 passes for 127 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. “And then we just didn’t make the plays when we had a chance.”

For his part, Willis, part of a unit that allowed 250 yards in a loss to the Panthers, hinted at the importance of avoiding division between the offense and defense. The loss dropped the 49ers 3 ½ games behind Seattle (10-1) in the NFC West, meaning they will likely play a wild-card game on the road if they make the postseason.

“We’ve just to keep playing, stay together and fight,” Willis said. “And find a way to get into the playoffs.”

Of course, it’s possible the road to the playoffs would be a little easier if the Brooks’ sack had stood late in the fourth quarter. After the game, Brooks shook his head in a quiet visitor’s locker room.

“It was at home,” Brooks said. “It was Drew Brees. And maybe the officials were for the New Orleans Saints a little bit more than the 49ers. I think it’s B.S., man.”